Gone are
the days of foot warmers and heavy blankets in church, but thedraft-reducing
box pews and challenges of temperature control are still present in two of
Boston’s oldest wood-framed historic meetinghouses. Condition assessments for First Church in Roxbury (1804) and Second Church in Dorchester (1805)
have included reviews of heating system improvements since both churches
struggle with this same issue that has confronted New England congregations
since the early days of voluminous worship spaces. Funded by Historic Boston Incorporated, the assessment
of these two significant religious facilities has been performed by Mills
Whitaker Architects.

In the
case of First Church, a pair of undersized oil-fired furnaces located in the
uninsulated cellar heats the existing sanctuary. Earlier coal-fired furnaces, though
deteriorated, are still present. Delivering
hot air via uninsulated ductwork to randomly spaced floor registers dating from
multiple time periods, the space comfort from the existing furnaces is far from
ideal. However, since the facility does
not host a congregation at the present time, the sanctuary is only used for
special events and the heat is normally turned off. The church proper is one of three
interconnected buildings, including the 1876 Putnam Chapel and 2004 Urban
Ministry Center, both of which are heated and in constant use. There is now a keen interest in resurrecting
the usability of the church for meetings of all kinds, and key to that success
is the provision of a viable heating system that is appropriate and affordable. Working within the constraints of limited
resources and the historic facility, replacement of the furnaces with gas-fired
units, insulated ductwork and other improvements are recommended, along with
keeping the space above freezing when not in use in order to adequately protect
interior finishes that need to be restored.

Second Church in Dorchester

At
Second Church, the original sanctuary is also part of a complex, connected to
adjacent chapel space (1869), parlors (1892) and parish house (1925-29). Early coal-fired furnaces in this facility
were replaced with modern steam heat when the parish house was
constructed. Cast iron radiators were
recessed into the walls of the sanctuary below the windows, a process that
included the unfortunate cutting and removal of timber braces between the sills
and posts, a condition that was discovered and corrected when the deteriorated sills
were replaced in 2003. Prior to the sill
repairs, the sanctuary heating system was abandoned in place due to multiple
steam leaks and the expense of maintenance.
In contrast to First Church, Second Church hosts the ongoing activities
of three congregations, none of which meet in the sanctuary during winter but
welcome the opportunity to do so. Given
the presence of repaired wall recesses under the windows, the sensible approach
to providing an appropriate replacement heating system for this church is to
install a high-efficiency hot-water gas-fired boiler to serve gravity
convectors within existing wall recesses, thereby not requiring any more
disruption of the historic interiors.
The boiler installation would benefit from a recent gas conversion
project that allowed for future expansion.

In both
churches, the characteristic box pews of these historic meeting rooms will
remain in place. If only foot warmers
and blankets could be normative once again...